←Recommendations of The Elephant

If Ionesco's corpse was exhumed and reanimated and asked to write a short play about domestic life, it might look a lot like "The Elephant." Ava Love Hanna perfectly balances physical comedy (a literal elephant) with hilarious dialogue, and it ends with a twist that I did not see coming.

We start with a husband and a wife. We add an elephant in the room with them. But is it a literal elephant or a figurative one? Ah, that is the question! This is a fun little play by Ava Love Hanna. Give it a read!

Absolutely hilarious! Ava Love Hanna provides an absurd look at a marriage with some serious communication issues. I’m still imagining what this will look like when it’s fully produced. Please let that happen!

Wildly funny, tremendously fun, and surprisingly, wonderfully moving. Ava Love Hanna makes her metaphor winningly literal, giving actors, designers, and directors limitless opportunity for over the top physical comedy, all the while grounding the absurdity in something deeply true about marriage and secrets and the nature of love unspoken. An all-around great short piece, one that plays like a delicious froth of a dessert but is in fact a whole meal.

This terrific play goes places I didn't anticipate at all, but every moment is earned, full, and fascinating. Oh, and it's extremely funny, too! Such clear, commanding writing. Splendid.

Something is coming between Charlotte and Steven. Something big, and heavy, and undeniable (to one of them at least). Will they be able to find a way to communicate before their lives (and their kitchen) are destroyed by The Elephant in the Room. This savvy absurdist farce pulls out all the stops to great effect and delivers on its promise with both humor and aplomb.

A fantastic mix of vintage and new, highlighting that old chestnut: the elephant in the room. But, like, really. The elephant in the room. Fun to read and probably even better to perform, THE ELEPHANT is a blend of whimsy and the reality of being a couple. An absurdist delight!!

"... but I was too busy being on fire to make sense of it." I knew I loved this play even before I got to that line, but it clinched it. The Elephant is a deliriously smart and funny play, with a cleverly subtle, serious message about how we so often exist with other people without really listening to or understanding them. The dialog is delightful, and the banter is ridiculous but relatable. Well done!

From the delightfully written stage directions (I do love a whimsical stage direction), to the increasingly absurd situation, there is just so much to love here. There is not a wasted word or action. Beautifully written and realized, this play is also absurdly, deliciously, diabolically hilarious! Thanks - I enjoyed every moment of the literal elephant in the room.

02.06.26 - Now THAT is how you address the elephant in the room. Ava Love hanna has written a corker of a comedy here with laughs on every page. I'm a sucker for absurd comedies and this one fits the bill perfectly. I'm anxious to see someone produce this if only to see how the titular character would be realized. Terrific stuff.